


bean

by tellmewhatyousee



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Light-Hearted, Penguins, Silly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27925273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tellmewhatyousee/pseuds/tellmewhatyousee
Summary: The Heart Pirates return to their ship to find they've gained a passenger.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 74





	bean

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bajillian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bajillian/gifts).



> today marks 3 years since i first reached out to Bajillian and this is my anniversary gift to her! ❤️ it's inspired by [this very cute art](https://twitter.com/dd_trhk_tkt/status/1334736540639977473)
> 
> ...also this is my 100th fic on this account oml

A good number of the Heart Pirates came from the North Blue, so a winter island’s frigid weather felt like home. They all loved it— particularly Bepo, who was always happy to surface and escape the confines of the Polar Tang. While the others had to bundle up before leaving the ship, the mink’s fur was more than enough to keep him comfortable.

Of course, with a crew like theirs, they visited no island without incident. This time, a petty squabble between Penguin and Shachi ended with Penguin being pushed into a freezing lake. Law ordered Shachi to fish him out before they rushed back to the ship to warm him up.

Once Penguin dried off and got into some fresh clothes, Law insisted Penguin stay in the infirmary until he had full feeling in his limbs again. He sat in one of the recovery beds, wrapped up in blankets and sipping a cup of tea while Law monitored his temperature.

“Y’know, Captain, you don’t have to babysit me,” Penguin said as Law scanned the thermometer across his forehead for the third time in the past twenty minutes. “I’m warming up just fine.”

“Not enough,” Law said once he’d read the display. “96.6 is still too cold. Keep drinking.”

Penguin sighed, but took another sip of his tea nonetheless. He appreciated his captain’s concern and all, but he had things to do. _Dinner_ would be ready soon.

“I’m gonna grab a heating pad for you,” Law said, turning to the supply cabinets. “But you should only keep it on for ten minutes or so. I don’t want you to burn yourself.”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Penguin muttered into his mug, though he knew there was no point in arguing. He saw Law crouch down to open one of the lower cabinets and subsequently freeze in place.

“...Penguin?”

“Yeah?”

“No, I...” Law shook his head before he stepped aside. “There’s a _penguin.”_

Penguin blinked. Tucked away in the cabinet, sitting on top of a folded blanket, was a small, fluffy penguin. It appeared to be sleeping. “What… how the hell did it get in here?” he asked.

“I don’t _know,”_ Law answered. “I kept everything locked up when I left the ship. So unless it somehow snuck on behind us, I don’t…”

A knock on the door interrupted Law’s train of thought, and the door opened to reveal Shachi. “Hey, Pen, are you...” His gaze shifted to Law crouched on the floor, then to the little fluffball in the cabinet. “Holy shit, that’s a baby penguin.”

“Astute observation, thank you,” Law said, rolling his eyes. He reached towards the creature, but Shachi ran over just in time to stop him.

“Wait, you don’t wanna wake him,” Shachi whispered.

“It’s _trespassing_ on our ship,” Law said, keeping his own voice at a normal volume. 

“C’mon, he’s just a baby,” Shachi said. He turned back to look at Penguin. “You know about these things, right? How are they with humans?”

Penguin furrowed his brow. “How would I know?” he asked.

“Wh— your _name?”_

“Okay,” Law interjected. “Baby or not, it has to go. It’s barely a foot tall, so I doubt it poses a threat. I’m going to pick it up and get it _out_ of my supply cabinet, and we can talk to Bepo about turning around and heading back to that island.” 

“Just… be _gentle,”_ Shachi said. “The poor thing’s probably scared.”

“It’s _sleeping,”_ Law pointed out. “I’d say it’s pretty calm.” With no further delays, he lifted the penguin out of the cabinet, which immediately stirred it awake. It started chirping, wiggling in his hold, so he passed it off to Shachi.

“Woah, hey, okay,” Shachi said, gently setting the penguin back down on the floor. “It’s alright, little guy. We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“You know it can’t understand you,” Law said as he grabbed the heating pad he’d been looking for in the first place. “I need you to go talk to Bepo. I have to keep an eye on Penguin.” He glanced down at the small creature waddling its way across the floor. “...Penguins.”

“Fine, but I’m gonna grab him some food, too,” Shachi said as he turned to leave. “I bet he’s hungry.”

“Close the door on your way out,” Law called after him. The last thing he needed was a baby animal wreaking havoc around his entire ship. It would be best to keep it contained to one room. Once the heating pad was sufficiently heated, he helped Penguin wrap it around himself underneath the blanket. “Is that any better?” he asked.

Penguin nodded, though he was a little distracted by the baby sitting in the middle of the floor. “Don’t baby penguins get cold?” he asked.

Law turned to look at the creature. “I thought you didn’t know anything about them,” he said.

“I really don’t, but don’t their parents usually, like… sit on them?”

Law furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Yeah, like they do with the eggs,” Penguin replied. “Keeps ‘em warm.” He extended his arms out towards the penguin. “Lemme see him.”

Law let out a sigh. As much as he’d like to prioritize his human crewmates (and Bepo) over some random animal, the poor thing was shivering. Leaving it on the floor seemed needlessly cruel.

The chirping and flailing resumed as soon as Law picked it up… and stopped immediately when he set it down in Penguin’s lap.

“There, see?” Penguin asked. He wrapped his arms around the penguin to hold it in place, but kept it loose enough so as not to restrict its movement. “Nice and cozy.”

“Good, keep it out of my supplies,” Law said. With that, he turned to work on organizing his cabinets, content to leave the babysitting to Penguin.

“I think we should name him,” Penguin spoke up after only a few minutes. “I like… Bean.”

Law glanced over his shoulder at the pair. The little penguin looked cozy, wrapped in the blanket, and held securely against Penguin’s stomach. _“...Bean?”_

“Yeah,” Penguin said. “‘Cause he’s just a little bean. Y’know?”

Law only sighed. “Sure, whatever. Just don’t get too attached.”

“He’s really soft, y’know,” Penguin added, ignoring Law’s comment. “Fluffy. You should pet him.”

“I already held him.”

“Yeah, but he was freakin’ out then. Now he’s nice and calm.”

Law looked down at the penguin— at _Bean._ His eyes were closed, and he’d stopped shivering. Admittedly, when he was wrapped up in a blanket instead of sitting on top of Law’s medical supplies, he had to admit the thing was kind of… cute.

“Fine,” Law muttered before he reached out to pet Bean. The fur was, indeed, _very_ soft, even softer than Bepo’s. Law barely noticed when his lips twitched up into a faint smile.

“So… can we keep him?” Penguin asked.

Law’s usual grimace returned. “Absolutely not.”


End file.
